Wow where to begin.
This book has everything; historical, romance, tragedy, ghost story, mystery and a parallel story running in modern day.
Sometimes books with dual timeline stories don't work as they are just too complicated but this reads like a dream. It is not my usual genre of choice but this author reeled me in from the first page and i devoured it at speed, so much so i have already been recommending it to people on release date.
The tale runs from 1889 and Kitty Gray, later Maclean - her dreams up in smoke after being married off to Charles Maclean who soon becomes a man she no longer recognises.
Fast forward to 2003 when Caitlin Black arrives at Ardbray House looking to buy and restore what was Kittys sanctuary and also discover the secret of the herbalist.
There is so much to laud about this book, the style of writing, the characterisation, the plot ... and there is even a recipe for ginger cake! What is not to love!

I'm going to start my review with a trigger warning, this book deals with child loss multiple times and with suicide.

I want to call this a cozy mystery, but it's more of general women's fiction. There is so much discussion of history and women's rights during the late 1890s especially in textiles. Kitty Gray later Kitty Maclean marries a man who she thinks will let her continue her dream of practicing medicine. Soon after their wedding she discovers that he has no intentions of letting her continue to learn medicine. He would prefer a quiet pretty wife to show off to his slimy business partner, John Hardgrove. After too many infractions against polite society Kitty is banished to Ardbray House in the Scottish Highlands. There she falls in love with the house and the highlands, building her garden up and becoming a world renown herbalist.

Caitlin Black comes from a famous family, but is a bit of a black sheep. She comes to Ardbray House with hopes of buying it and turning it into a retreat from the modern world. Greer has been looking after the house and the ghosts that live there for 50 years. She is a little reluctant to let the house go, she has built her whole life caring for the house and she doesn't know who she is without it.

This book is about loss and what brings us back to life afterwards. All of the women in book have suffered immense professional and personal losses, but they keep finding there way toward family and love. The family that they build for themselves is really how they heal. There is a little spook factor where ghosts play a role, but there is a good conclusion.

I did really enjoy the parallels between the past and present day in the book. There were so many little things that would tie the two narratives together, it made for a really well rounded story. However, it thought the first half of the book was a little long. Multiple times I was like where is this story going and when are we going to get to the mystery. Some of the background could have been shored up, or the story could have started with Kitty already married. It was just a little long, but a good story and a great debut!

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the eARC.

What a beautifully well written absorbing read. This book got me hooked from the beginning, and I loved the time hop parts. At the end of each chapter I was left on a cliffhanger, and couldn’t wait to get back to that part of the story. The description of the people and places was mesmerising, I could just imagine the remote stately house and a woman trying to make the best of a marriage that arranged for her, as was the norm in the era. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who favours historical novels, and it’s a wonderful, put everything down and keep reading sort of book. I’ve copied down the ginger cake recipe which I’ll definitely make, what a lovely bonus that was at the end.

Thanks to Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication.

I really enjoyed this historical dual time line story. An amazing house in the Scottish highlands, ghosts, herbalism, relationships and finding your place in the world. A great book to settle down with in front of the fire this winter. Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advance review copy.

The Herbalist's Secret by Annabelle Marx is a dual timeline following two women: Kitty Maclean, a Scottish woman coming to live in the large home of her new husband in the 19th century, and Caitlin Black, an American in 2003 who has purchased the house with dreams of restoring it and turning it into a retreat. There is a thread of grief and mourning involving both women, as well as a strong sense of independence from what family or the world may want or expect of them.

I found the timeline of Kitty more interesting, mostly because the basis of the mystery (mysteries, I suppose, with how and why the children died and who the skull belongs to) is automatically a more compelling plot to follow. I also enjoyed that even when pushed to the side and forced into exile, Kitty still had a spirit of stubbornness, carving out a space of her own in the form of the garden she created from the ground up and making friends with the staff even though it was against societal rules. The more modern timeline had a few interesting bits to uncover as well, involving what pushed Caitlin so hard into buying a house needing a lot of love which she knew from firsthand experience was haunted.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kitty Gray has dreams, they are not her parents' dreams. They are not the dreams of her new husband. She is exiled to a remote home. Do you conform to what your husband wants, or do you find a way to live your life? What happens when everything you knew has been lost?
I enjoyed the journey with Kitty. I loved this story, was sad for it to end. I truly look forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc

This is a dual timeline novel which didn’t work very well for me. Some of the chapters were too long and I felt like the pacing was off throughout the book. I wasn’t keen on the writing style but the plot and storyline were pretty good. I think this was a personal thing that it just didn’t work well for me

The Herbalists Secret by Annabelle Marx

An enchanting read that took me from the very first chapter on a journey that will stay with me for a long time.
Set in two times , at Ardbray House firstly in 1889 and Kitty Gray an intelligent young woman who has her heart set on getting a good education to lead into becoming a doctor , instead she is married off to a rich man and sent to Ardbray House in the Scottish highlands.
To occupy her time she sets up a herb garden and her interest grows into their medicinal properties.
In more modern times Caitlin Black arrives at the house to help restore it and it's wondrous gardens back to their former glory
Although far apart from a time perspective , it's the garden that brings them together.
I was hooked from the first page , beautiful.

What a story! One of the best I've read in awhile. The flow between Greer and Kitty's timeliness was perfect.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGallery for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This novel checked most of the boxes for me: historical fiction, characters connected through time, ghosts, rural domestic life. The descriptions of the gardens and architecture were wonderful. At times I felt the dialogue contained a bit too much repetitive exposition, and that exposition took away from the shock and drama of some of the climactic moments. I’m exceptionally grateful for the inclusion of the ginger cake recipe at the end! All in all a beautiful and emotional read.

I have literally just finished The Herbalists Secret and wow it was a great read. I'm not sure who's narrations I preferred Kitty's or Greer's but they came together perfectly. I really enjoyed the story although I found a jump between Kitty's marriage then being 2 children in a little frustrating but I think that's just because I'm greedy and wanted more.

An excellent read that I highly recommend.

A riveting debut, an original premise, an enigmatic heroine, and a compelling Highland setting, The Herbalist’s Secret is a book you will not want to put down. This novel tells the tale of young Kitty MacLean as she finds a new, wonderful life, in the remote Scottish Highlands after her husband exiles her from Glasgow for her non-conforming ways. Over a century later, Caitlin Black purchases Arbray House with plans to restore it. When a skeleton is found, the hidden secrets of those many years’ past will come to light, revealing many unanswered questions to a very old mystery. This heartwarming and enchanting tale is charming, clever, and quietly moves through the discoveries. Marx’s writing has the soothing warmth of the cups of tea her characters regularly dispense.

An enjoyable tale, very female based.
I do like a house with history, the house almost becomes a character itself.
The dual timeline for me was stronger on Kitty's side, where obviously the secret lay.
This book does a good job of highlighting how poorly women were treated I the past, women of all classes.
A nice way to spend a few hours.

A fascinating mystery that kept me turning the pages well past midnight, this exquisitely written novel was a dual-time slip novel that never slowed or faltered no matter whether we were in the past or contemporary times. The Herbalist's Secret has twists and turns you won't see coming. Very good!

Ardbray House, in the Scottish highlands is the setting for this book about the women who call the estate home over the centuries, mainly Kitty in the 19th century and Kitty and Greer in the 21st. This is a beautifully written book about the strength, resilience and character of women

We delve into the history of Ardbray house and the generations of women linked to it, mainly the first one in 1889 with Kitty and the last ones in 2003 with Greer and Caitlin. It is the story of the strong women who with their joys, their longings, their sorrows, their losses and their secrets have been shaping Ardbray House.
Annabelle Marx has pleasantly surprised me with her first novel. With a simple style and characters that touch you, she has created one of those novels that you can't stop reading and that I enjoyed enormously.

I devoured this book in a day. The characters in the dual time lines were interesting and well developed. Clearly, Kitty's story is not going to be happy, and the mystery of the ghost children keeps the reader intrigued. The back story of the cotton industry and her husband’s partner bubbles along in the background. The role of women and their choices at the time is explored, especially the relationship with one’s employees at the time. The present day story is just as important, as the future of the house is sorted, and the mysteries resolved. The relationship between Greer and Caitlin was beautifully crafted. The way the house had a personality worked for me. All in all, a wonderful read for a wet and rainy day!